Fool of a Took
by elveriamoir
Summary: A collection of One shots that pop up in my mind about The Lord of the Rings. I make no apologies or explanations about the way my brain works. I do hope you enjoy them. Oh I will put any warnings at the beginning of the chapters. Rating is for my own peace of mind at the moment.
1. Chapter 1

_**AN: I don't own any of the LoTR characters I am just taking them out of Tolkien's toy box and playing with them. Can be taken as slash if one squints.**_

At the Walls.

He didn't understand what was happening to him.

When had he started to find the flowing red hair and compact body beautiful? When had he started to admire the deadly elegance behind each axe swing? When had the ancient battle cry of "Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu!" stirred his blood and gave fire to his own actions? When had his heart beat in worry when he couldn't spot the short form of his companion? When had he felt the need to sit for hours and carefully remove the blood and ichor from the magnificent beard? When had he allowed the familiarity of allowing broad callused fingers to braid his own blonde hair?

No he didn't understand what was happening to him. Nor did he understood when it had started, but as he rode on the back of a magnificent white horse, Gimli a heavy, comforting warmth at his back he found he didn't care.

_**AN: What do you think of my first venture into LOTR verse?**_

_**Leave me a review please. I would love to hear what you think. **_


	2. Into the Fray

_**AN: I don't own any of the LoTR characters I am just taking them out of Tolkien's toy box and playing with them. Can be taken as slash if one squints.**_

_**This follows on from At the Walls, but can be read separately. **_

Into the fray.

He didn't understand it.

When had he found comfort in the too willowy form being by his side? When had he found safety in the twang of a bow string? When had the sight of blonde hair dampened by rain and stained by blood stoked the furnace of his protectiveness? When had he started to feel the need to keep the too thin form within his vision? When had he allowed himself to become so familiar that he let nimble fingers work at his beard? When had he become so attached that he would braid the hair of someone who wasn't kin?

He didn't understand it. Nor did he care too. As he rode on the back of that bloody great beast he found himself comforted by the slender waist he no longer gripped tightly in fear of falling. Legolas would have his back, and he would watch the back of the elf.

_**AN: Leave me a review and let me know what you think please. I do enjoy finding out your opinions. **_


	3. The Dead Marshes

_**AN: I don't own any of the hobbit characters I am just taking them out of Tolkien's toy box and playing with them.**_

The Dead Marshes

Ada told me I should never to walk along the marsh shortcut that led from our home to the Kingdom of Erebor. He said it was dangerous and I'd get myself killed if I didn't listen to him. That didn't make any sense to me. The marsh shortcut was a wide, sandy path that my buddies used all the time when they went from the woodland realm to the dwarven kingdom. None of them ever got hurt. And at the age of thirteen, I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself.

It was Pa who told me why Ada was so scared of the marsh path. Pa spoke softly, his Westron still tinged by his Sindarin accent. "Your Ada's little sister disappeared in the marsh a long time ago. She was taking the shortcut to the old pond to gather some firewood, and she never came back. They found her straw hat floating in the stagnant water, but they never found her body."

"I ain't gonna fall into the water like Ada's sister," I protested.

"That isn't it, son," Pa said. "It's the spirit of your little aunt. She comes to the marsh path some evenings and she...she sings."

Colour drained from my face and my arms grew goose fleshed. "She's a ghost?" I gasped.

"Not just a ghost, son," Pa said. "Your little aunt, she is kind of like the Jack Ma Lantern. After she drowned, her ghost started floating over the marsh at night, singing softly of death and the grave. She's lonesome and wants her family to join her, so she tries to lure them into the water with her song." Pa swallowed hard and continued: "It is safe for your comrades to walk that path 'cause _they are not family_. But if you go there, the ghost will come for you. So you stay away from the marsh."

It was easy to forget the ghost in the long days of summer as the fellers and I rambled around the countryside after the day's work was done. One day, my buddy and I were caught in Dale after sunset. "My Pa's going to be sore at me if I miss dinner," Tamuriel said. "We better hurry." Tamuriel swerved onto the shortcut through the marsh, expecting me to follow. I stared after my buddy, torn between speed and safety. I knew I shouldn't take the shortcut, but with Tamuriel present, chances were good that the ghost wouldn't come because he wasn't family. I raced down the marsh path after Tamuriel.

As the wind swished through the marsh grasses, all whisper-whisper-whisper, I paused for a moment to admire the moon, which was rising over the treetops, making a glittering path across the still water. Suddenly, the air around me grew cold until my whole body shook with chills. Out of the silvery moon-sparkle there came a child-like figure that danced and floated above the dark water like a will-o-wisp. I gasped, my throat tight with fear. I called to Tamuriel, just a yard in front of me, but he didn't hear me and I knew he couldn't see the spirit floating toward us across the marsh. Puffs of freezing air formed in front of my nostrils as the little girl started to sing.

I relaxed suddenly, as lovely pictures floated through my head. I saw myself as a grown man and I had become rich and famous. I had a fancy house and an expensive jewels and a lovely family. Then I saw my Ada right in front of me. He was beaming with pride over my achievements. He beckoned to me, want me to come give him a hug. I hurried forward, splashing through water that came to my knees, my waist, my chest. "I'm coming Ada!" I called, stretching strangely heavy arms toward him. Then I was overwhelmed by the stink of stagnant marsh gases. My mouth filled with sour water and I choked as the world went dark.

I woke gasping as someone pounded me on the chest. I choked and vomited swamp water all over the person thumping my ribs. Then I heard Pa's voice: "Son? You all right? Son!" I opened my eyes and saw Tamuriel and my Pa staring down at me in the shimmering moonlight. It was Tamuriel that pulled me out of the swamp, and Pa that forced air back into my lungs. I was soaked to the skin and my whole body trembled with cold and shock. "I saw Ada's little sister," I gasped. "She sang to me..." Papa swept me into a hug, shading me from the world in a curtain of golden hair and sheltering me with long limbs, then I lost consciousness again.

When I woke the second time, I was in my bed and Ada was holding my hand and weeping. He hugged me so tight I could barely breathe and scolded me something fierce for disobeying him. He tucked his head under my chin as he lay by my side and I stared down at the now white streaked red braids I promised him that I wouldn't walk the marsh path again, and I kept that promise.

_**AN: **_

_**Yes it is supposed to be a Legolas/Gimli story. **_

_**Leave me a review and let me know what you think please.**_


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